Updated 10:00 pm, Thursday, October 25, 2001

This tiny sushi restaurant piqued my interest months before I managed to get to it early enough to avoid the dinner rush. At almost all times of the night, numerous people can be found milling in front of Musashi in Wallingford, hungrily waiting for one of about 30 coveted seats.

On the night we managed to get there before 6:30 p.m., no sooner had we been seated that the line began to form. Was the sushi really worth the wait?

For its price, freshness and portions, this place is a no-brainer.

Generous cuts of raw yellowtail and tuna ($1.50 a piece) adorned oval balls of sticky rice. The smoked salmon roll (6 pieces, $2.60) was a silky, buttery creation. And the flying fish roe ($1.50 a piece) was plentiful, delicately cupped in a round of seaweed and rice.

The roll of pickled daikon radish (6 pieces, $2.20) was a favorite, though it was heavy on wasabi. If you love coleslaw, try the harusame salad ($1.20), a cold noodle salad with thin slices of cucumber, carrots, crab and mayonnaise.

Grilled vegetable, beef and chicken skewers balance out the menu. At $1.10 each, it was hard to stop nibbling on skewers of grilled green onions, zucchini, mushrooms or a mixture of all three marinated with teriyaki sauce.